Clubfoot is one of the most common pathologies of the foot affecting 1 in 1000 newborn babies according to statistics. The first treatment approach is by using conventional procedures, such as plaster and cast, and, the literature reports a range of failures causing relapse. Patients with severe or relapsed cases or patients that are treated later in life may require unconventional procedures to provide correction. In order to increase the success rate after the correction, it is necessary to: a)perform analyses to improve the current treatments and b) investigate the tissues involved in this pathology in order to have a better understanding of clubfoot to develop future treatments. The Ilizarov fixator has been shown to be a good alternative for complex and relapsed cases. However, there are no numerical nor experimental studies to: a) improve the efficiency of the frame deployment for clubfoot, b) provide guidance on the right adjustment procedures, and c) understand the mechanical behaviour of the frame applied to clubfoot. This makes the adjustments fully dependent on the surgeon's experience instead of systematic guidelines/procedures. This results in configurations that induce stresses in the fixator that are transferred to the tissues and leading to a reduction in the success rate. Furthermore, the literature on the correction of clubfoot in babies and the role of the tissues in babies' feet during the correction is limited. Therefore, the aim of the thesis is to analyse the relationship between the adjustments of the connectors and the displacements of the fixator rods, on the one hand, and the stress-strain induced in the rods and fixator, on the other hand. This is achieved by means of a finite element analysis of the stress-strain distributions in the fixator components. The predicted stresses are used for the identification of the components that should be adjusted in the fixator to prevent them from failure. The findings and results in the thesis will enable surgeons to understand better the mechanical behaviour of the Ilizarov frame in clubfoot, and they will facilitate the establishment of a functional range of the fixator in order to improve the current procedures. Another aim is to investigate the mechanical behaviour of one of the most affected bones during the correction of clubfoot in babies, namely the talus. The literature reports a change of shape in the talus during clubfoot correction using conventional procedures. This can result in a change of the stress distribution in the foot tissues during gait in latter stages of life leading to different pathologies. This clearly shows the importance of investigating the mechanical behaviour of the talus. This is the first numerical study to investigate the right adjustment procedures of the frame for clubfoot. It is expected that the findings of this research contribute to the improvement of the current corrective procedures based on the use of the Ilizarov frame and to improve the understanding of clubfoot in babies.

Este trabalho de pesquisa consiste num esforço teórico com foco de interesse na dinâmica subjetiva vivenciada por bebês em processo de estruturação psíquica ao serem defrontados com a primeira experiência escolar, tendo como referencial a conexão psicanálise e educação. O motivo que inspirou a investigação foi a busca por um pouco de entendimento em relação aos impasses vivenciados nessa passagem. O choro e a dificuldade experimentada pela mãe em confiar seu bebê a alguém desconhecido conferem à entrada da criança na creche um caráter traumático, pois representam uma separação, no discurso corriqueiramente utilizado. Para isso, encontrou-se suporte nas noções de constituição psíquica e de campo do Outro e nas operações lacanianas de alienação e separação que permitiram estabelecer um contraponto entre estruturação subjetiva e noção de desenvolvimento infantil. A partir dessa abordagem e da noção lacaniana de separação como uma operação fundante do psiquismo, foi possível propor uma leitura dos impasses que permeiam a inserção da criança no mundo público como mais uma vicissitude do vir a ser um sujeito. / This research is a theoretical effort focused in the subjective dynamics experienced by infants in psychic structuring process when faced with the first school experience, taking as referential the psychoanalysis and education connection. The reason that inspired the investigation was the search for some understanding about the impasses experienced in this passage. The crying and the difficulty experienced by the mother to trust her baby to someone unknown give a traumatic nature to the entry of the child in the daycare, as it represents a separation, in the routinely used speech. For this, we found support in the notions of psychic constitution and field of the Other and in the Lacanian operations of alienation and separation that allowed establishing a counterpoint between subjective structuring and the concept of child development. Based on this approach and the Lacanian notion of separation as a foundational operation of the psyche, it was possible to propose a reading of the impasses that permeate the inclusion of children in the public world as another vicissitude of becoming a subject.

4 p. / The saying “you are what you eat” takes on a new meaning when a woman learns she is expecting a baby. For the next several months, her growing baby’s health is directly dependent upon what she eats, and what she chooses to avoid. What is more, a woman’s diet during pregnancy has been shown to affect her child’s health long after she is no longer eating for two.

Background: Unsettled infant behaviour is a common problem of infancy without known aetiology or effective management, and it is costly in both social and economic terms. Some osteopaths propose that musculoskeletal dysfunction contributes to unsettled infant behaviour, yet reported improvement following osteopathic treatment is anecdotal. A primary issue is the absence of a measurement tool to test musculoskeletal dysfunction in infants. Aims and Objectives: This research aimed to investigate: the reliability and validity of the infantile postural asymmetry (IPA) measurement scale; whether there was a relationship between IPA and unsettled infant behaviour as measured by the Revised Infant Behavior Questionnaire – short form (IBQ-Rs); and whether any relationship between IPA and unsettled infant behaviour was mediated by, or confounded with, the demographic variables of age, sex, birth weight and weight gain in twelve- to sixteen-week-old infants. Methods: Fifty-eight infants aged twelve- to sixteen-weeks-old were recruited through public health clinics, and their behaviour was assessed using the parent-report IBQ-Rs. Infantile asymmetry was measured using observer ratings of spontaneous movements in the IPA scale. A quantitative cross-sectional observational design was used to investigate the relationship between IPA and unsettled behaviour. Results: An association between unsettled behaviour and musculoskeletal dysfunction was not found in twelve- to sixteen-week-old infants using the IPA measurement scale. Ratings for the trunk convexity parameter of the IPA scale were unreliable and excluded from statistical analysis. A significant difference between high and low cervical rotation deficit groups for Surgency was detected in female babies and needs further examination. Some subsets of the IBQ-Rs were unstable when measuring behaviour in twelve- to sixteen-week-old infants. Future research targeting infants younger than twelve-weeks-old, and presenting with unsettled behaviour, is indicated. Conclusion: A causal relationship between unsettled infant behaviour and musculoskeletal dysfunction is still unproven. The literature suggests benefits associated with a consistent approach to providing parents with information, support and advice on normal behaviour patterns and optimal handling of infants. Non-specific effects cannot be ruled out in reported improvements following osteopathic treatment. Management strategies require early implementation and a multidisciplinary approach. The absence of common terminology in infant behaviour problems is an obstacle in cross-professional communication. A role for osteopathy may be in developing a shared language to facilitate management and research, and to examine the importance of positioning and handling practices on infant asymmetry and the relationship with the musculoskeletal system.

MCur / Department of Advanced Nursing Science / Introduction: During the provision of care to preterm babies, midwives encounter many problems and challenges which may vary according to the gestational age of the women, condition of the foetus, availability of equipment and resources, and experience of the midwives. In addition, poor working conditions, feelings of insecurity, staff shortage, and lack of support from the management and having to deal with parents who do not comply with the hospital management plan for their babies; all contribute to the problems faced by midwives. The purpose of this study was to determine challenges encountered by midwives when providing care to preterm neonates at selected hospitals in the Mopani District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Methods: Qualitative research in this study was conducted in a natural setting at the selected hospitals. The target population was the midwives who have been working in maternity wards for at least two years and were on duty during the period of data collection. Non-random purposive sampling was used to select the participants. Data were collected using unstructured interviews, which were tape recorded and transcribed. The six steps as described by Creswell were used for data analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured by using the model of Lincoln & Guba that included credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability. Ethical principles, namely, permission to conduct the study, informed consent from participants, privacy, confidentiality, autonomy, anonymity and respect were observed. Results: When midwives provide care to preterm babies they often encounter multiple challenges which can be human or material resource related. In his study, midwives were found to perform their duties in the face of multiple challenges, including staff vi shortages, which resulted in exhaustion of the available midwives. Nursing a preterm baby is a challenge on its own as these babies are likely to develop clinical problems related to immaturity, e.g., hypoglycaemia, hypothermia, jaundice, sepsis and respiratory distress. Mothers may be traumatised and find it difficult to accept their babies as they are, this leads to lack of cooperation in the care of the neonate and it becomes a problem for the midwives who are directly providing such care. The aforementioned challenges are related to all the four major concepts of human caring as described by Jean Watson which are health, human being, nursing and environment. Recommendations: It is recommended that further research be conducted on the same topic, but in a different setting to generate more knowledge. Policy makers should work together with health care professionals who are directly involved in the care of preterm babies to improve the practice of the contents in the policies. / NRF

Thesis advisor: Katie Rapier / Through the years, people began to breed their dogs and cats with the intention for the pets to be useful in a certain skill. However, that has shifted to focus on their looks rather than their skills thanks to kennel clubs imposing standards on each breed. This has led irresponsible breeding practices to occur which in turn caused breeds to evolve negatively as breeds began to suffer from preventable genetic disorders and negative physical changes. Genetically manipulating soon shifted from pets to humans with PGD/IVF and CRISPR-Cas9. At first, there was a focus to use these methods to help cure and prevent genetic disorders. That has since shifted to people wanting to create the perfect child. In this thesis I will argue that designer breeds help lead the way to designer babies, and that any genetic manipulation to embryos should only be done if a medical reason is present. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Philosophy.

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The stories in this collection reflect the absurdities of contemporary American family life, and the particularly distressing economic conditions of the present moment. These stories often employ absurdist elements. Because of the personal history that informs my work, realism does not seem an appropriate form for me. My oldest son, in whom my emotional well-being is heavily invested, is autistic. He is not “normal"? in a way that others would understand as “normal."? Parenting a child with special needs changes the way a marriage operates, deforming it. The personal experience that drives these stories often seems fantastical even to me. I don’t write about my personal experiences, but I write about the impressions that those experiences make upon me. In this way, my work is descriptive rather than didactic. / Master of Fine Arts

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-13T14:10:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PaolaMazzili.pdf: 18960632 bytes, checksum: ea670220a736636fcd2f982b7fb976df (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-25 / This work addresses the subjective constructions of the media and consumption culture, attempting particularly to understand how maternal representations would be acquiring new meanings and, even, undergoing a process of capitalization in the contemporary scenario. We initially discuss the fictionalization of life and relate it to hyper-visualization practices and the spectacularization of motherhood. We next investigate an exacerbation of this phenomenon, namely, the consumption of reborn babies or hyper-real baby-puppets. At this stage, we argue how fantasies and idealizations related to maternity are appropriated by material culture. In the end, we study the commercialization of reborn babies, searching for the logics and strategies within the marketing of these objects, as well as the implicit process of capitalization of motherhood involved in it. All through this work, we have avoided judgments and propositions of evaluative nature. From the methodological viewpoint, we have adopted an interdisciplinary perspective which includes bibliographic and field research. / Este trabalho aborda as construções subjetivas na cultura da mídia e do consumo, buscando particularmente refletir sobre como representações da maternidade estariam ganhando novas acepções e, inclusive, passando por um processo de capitalização no cenário contemporâneo. Discutimos, inicialmente, a ficcionalização da vida relacionando-a a práticas de hiper-visualização e espetacularização do materno. Na sequência, investigamos uma exacerbação deste fenômeno, a saber, o consumo de reborn babies ou bonecos-bebê hiper-reais. Neste momento, problematizamos de que maneira fantasias e ideais relacionados à maternidade são apropriados pela cultura material. Finalmente, desenvolvemos um estudo sobre a comercialização desses objetos, buscando observar a lógica de funcionamento do mercado reborn e o processo de capitalização do materno que lhe é implícito. Ao longo deste trabalho evitamos julgamentos e apreensões de caráter avaliativo. Do ponto de vista metodológico, valorizamos uma perspectiva transdisciplinar e desenvolvemos uma pesquisa bibliográfica e de campo.